Puppy Love
by robinthethird
Summary: Tim lives simple life, working at a flower shop, and enjoys taking his German Shepard Gypsy on walks in the park. Jason was just in the right place at the wrong time. AU
1. Chapter 1

Tim whistled for his German Shepard as soon as he shut the door to his apartment which was just big enough to house himself and his dog. "Gypsy! Here, girl!" The Shepard perked her head over the back of the couch and leaped right over it, happy to see her mast once again. Tim laughed as Gypsy danced in circles around him. She knew what time it was and it was her favorite time of the day.

Tim put his wallet on the galley kitchen counter and picked up the neon pink leash that matched Gypsy's neon pink (and fake diamond studded) collar. He got only the best things for his little lady within his budget, of course. "Do you wanna go for a walk, Gypsy? Do you?" Tim knelt before the Shepard clipped the leash to the collar. "Come on, let's go!"

Gypsy walked Tim to the door as patiently as possible and waited for Tim to open it, close it, and finally lock it. Then she walked him down the hall, down the stairs, through the lobby, and out of the complex doors. Tim had gotten into the bad habit of letting Gypsy lead him around on their walks which got her into trouble sometimes. Hopefully today there would be no mishaps in the park with the hotdog vender.

Tim was happy to let Gypsy lead. It was a sort of mutual trust exercise they had. Tim trusted Gypsy to stay in the park, leave children and hotdog venders alone, and Gypsy would make sure Tim got some exercise of his own. Working in a flower shop with his parents didn't exactly help him in the physical fitness department. It was still a good job and put food on the table.

The park was a simple five minute walk from their apartment and was three miles of tree, shrubs, and flowers with easy, medium, and hard paths. Tim and Gypsy usually stuck with the easy paths and he wondered why the hotdog vender gave him dirty looks every single time they passed by. Oh, well. He wasn't about to travel the hard road if he didn't have to. Gypsy would probably love that though. Maybe he could mix up their routine someday.

Today they would stay on the regular path. Gypsy went to the left to travel the path backwards and visit the hotdog vender sooner. "No, no, Gypsy. Let's give the man a break today, huh?" Tim pulled Gypsy to the right and she resumed the lead. About halfway around the path, they stopped at one of many water fountains placed strategically around the park. Each spot had a fountain for humans and a fountain for pets complete with water bowl for easier access.

Now they were nearing the dreaded vender and Tim had a bad feeling about it today. There were a few people purchasing a before dinner snack but no more than usual. The vender noticed them right away and gave Tim the stink eye. Maybe he should change their routine to the medium path permanently. Gypsy had her nose to the air and was sniffing up a storm then she took off running straight towards the vender. Tim shouted in surprised as the leashed was pulled from his hand and started running to keep up with his mischievous dog. Gypsy barreled right into a man about to take a bite out of a chili dog.

"Gypsy, _no_!" Tim shouted at her but to no avail. The man looked up just in time to be knocked to the ground. Tim caught up to them just as Gypsy dug into her own pre-dinner snack. "I am _so, so_ sorry about that. She just really likes…hotdogs… Oh, I'm sorry." Tim bit his lip and bent down to retrieve the leash.

The man was actually smiling as he stood up and patted Gypsy's head affectionately. "Nah, it's all right. She has good taste."

"Hey! What'd I tell you 'bout that mutt? Scarin' away all my customers!" The vender yelled, stepping around the hotdog cart, waving his fist in the air.

Tim twisted the leash in his fingers nervously. "I'm sorry. She got away from m-"

"No more excuses, brat! You get that stupid mutt outta here, capiche?" The vender shook his finger in Tim's face.

Gypsy's new friend came to Tim's rescue, standing between him and the vender. "Come on, man. You don't have to yell at the poor guy. It was an accident. Let's blow this joint, huh?" The man grinned at Tim and offered him a greasy hand. "Jason Todd."

Tim looked at the hand dubiously before shaking it quickly. "Tim Drake. Thank you, by the way. You can probably tell she really likes hotdogs…" He laughed nervously as they walked away from the fuming vender.

"Don't worry about it. Louie is always like that but he makes the best chilidogs. So what's her name? She's really beautiful." Jason scratched the Shepard behind her ears.

"Gypsy. " Tim replied, smiling at how close Gypsy leaned her head into Jason's fingers.

Jason nodded. "Say…this is kind of a weird request but could I get your number? I'd like to take you out to dinner sometime."

"Uh, um…" Tim was dumbfounded. Nobody had ever asked him out on a date before, especially after his dog stole their chilidog. Stephanie didn't count since she was his best friend and they always did things like this. "Yeah, sure. "

"Great!" Jason fished into his equally greasy jeans pocket and pulled out two faded business cards and a chewed up pen. "Shoot."

Tim gave Jason his house number rather than his cell. He didn't know anything about Jason and it seemed too personal to give out his cell. Jason wrote the number down on one card and gave Tim the other. "So, I'll call you tomorrow. I get out of the shop early on Wednesdays."

"All right." Tim pocketed the number and smiled shyly at Jason. He felt like an idiot being nervous about nothing but then again maybe this wasn't exactly nothing. He was twenty years old and this was his first actual, legitimate date? Stephanie would be proud.

"Sweet. Well, see you around, Tim, Gypsy." Jason nodded at them both before walking back the way he had come.

"Bye!" Tim called out before Jason got too far away. Jason turned back and waved then continued on his way. Tim looked at Gypsy then giggled to himself. Jason seemed nice enough. Why not give it a shot? "Come on, Gypsy, let's go home."

It took them a little over a half to get back to the apartment complex. Gypsy pulled Tim up the stairs, panting like a wild thing desperate for a drink of water after her chilidog. Tim unlocked the door and unclipped the leash then put it back on the counter. He dug Jason's number out of his pocket and stuck it to the refrigerator with a magnet.

He had accidentally forgotten his cell phone in his room still on the charger and had been without it all day. There was only one text from his mother, reminding him that to bring the list of wedding flowers tomorrow. Tim rolled his eyes and scrolled through his contacts until Steph's number popped up and pressed dial.

The phone rang once, twice, thrice, and went to voicemail. Tim scoffed at his bad luck or bad timing and settled for leaving a message after the beep. "Hey, Steph, it's Tim. I just thought you'd like to be the first person to know I got a date tomorrow. Call me back when you get the chance. Bye."

He always felt so awkward leaving messages like that. He might as well be talking to himself which was just as awkward. Oh, well. She would call back immediately after that message if she wanted the details. She was always teasing him about his lack of significant others in his life. The least she could do was act surprised.

The phone belted out Steph's ring tone which just happened to be Single Ladies, her absolutely favorite song this week. Tim answered quickly so he didn't have to hear it longer than necessary. "Hello."

"A date? A date! Well, spill, Timmy! Who is she- or he? Where are you going? Is he- or she- gorgeous? Where did you meet? Details! I have to know!" She didn't even pause to take a breath between sentences.

Tim had to laugh. "His name is Jason Todd and we met at the part after Gypsy stole his chilidog."

"She really likes hotdogs. That's really weird. So, is he cute or what?" Steph was bouncing with anticipation on the other end of the line.

"Yeah, he is. He's tall, black hair, blue-green eyes. I think he's a mechanic." Tim wrinkled his nose at the memory of his greasy clothes. Figures he would get asked out by a grease monkey. "He better be clean on the date though."

Steph snorted and asked. "Is he one of those 'don't care what I look like' kinda guys?"

"I would assume so but I think he was on a work break and Gypsy ate his dinner. Oh, I feel so bad." Tim frowned and glanced at his dog happily digesting stolen goods on his sofa.

"Just promise me that won't be the only thing you guys talk about on your date. Seriously. Mood killer." Steph spoke with the utmost serious tone that Tim almost thought she wasn't kidding but it was hard to tell over the phone.

"Okay, I promise." Tim shrugged then grinned to himself. "And just what were you up to when I called?"

"Oh, I made cupcakes today for that special girl time, you know, and-"

Tim interrupted with a disgusted expression. "Yea, I get it. That's gross, Steph."

"Well, _anyway_, I gotta go. My incredibly gorgeous tutor will be here in like five minutes. Good luck on your date!" Steph made a kissy sound before she hung up.

Tim ended the call and sat beside Gypsy. "No more hotdogs for you, understand?"


	2. Chapter 2

Tim jumped when his cell phone rang at seven in the morning, interrupting his dream. He looked at the clock and groaned into his pillow. He didn't have to be up for another half hour. Tim sighed and dug the phone up from under his pillow and pressed the answer button after seeing who it was. "Hello..?"

"Tim, this is your mother. I'm calling to remind you to bring that list of wedding bouquets with you-"

"Yeah, okay, mom…" Tim made no secret of his yawn, purposefully drawing it out and stuffed the phone back under his pillow where it belong. It was definitely too early for this.

Almost exactly a minute later, the house phone rang, and this time he let it ring. After three and half rings, it went to voice mail. "Timothy Jackson Drake, don't you ignore me! I know you're awake! Janet, leave the boy alone. He's perfectly capable of…" Tim smiled when the message cut off and breathed out a laugh.

At seven fifteen, the house phone rang again, and once again Tim let it go to . Three interruptions from his sleep were three to many. "Hey, Tim, it's Jason… I know it's early but I wanted to call you before work. It's really weird, I'm sorry."

Tim sat up quickly and snatched up the phone from it's cradle, immediately pressing the talk button. "Jason? Are you still there?"

"Yeah, I'm still here." Jason sounded relieved that Tim had actually answered. "I just wanted to ask you something. Make sure you were okay with it."

Tim rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and rolled on his back. "What is it?"

"How do you feel about first dates on motorcycles?"

"Motorcycles?" Tim pushed the covers back and swung his legs over the bed. He was going to need a lot of coffee this morning.

"Yeah. I fixed up a great bike and thought we could test it out before dinner." Jason's voice came through the phone sounding very uncertain, like this was a bad idea, and he never should have said anything at all. "I could pick you up when you're done work."

Tim walked over to his dresser, leaning against it, and smiled into the mirror at himself. "That wold be pretty cool actually." He could never stay still while talking on the phone. A habit he had picked up from his mother.

"Yeah, you think so? Great! So…where do you work exactly?"

"You know the flower shop on Fifth Avenue?" Tim realized he was twisting his pointer finger in his hair and rolled his eyes. He was spending way to much time with Steph if he was picking up her habits, too.

"I know the place."

"Can you be there at three?" That would give him plenty of time to close the shop after his parents would leave and be ready and waiting for Jason. He would have to call Steph to take Gypsy on her walk and make sure they took the medium path to stay away from the crabby hotdog vender. As if sensing herself in his thoughts, Gypsy nosed open the bedroom door and nudged his hand with her head.

"Sure. Your shop isn't too far from the garage. All right! So, I'll see you at three, Tim?" Jason voice was back to it's normal, confident, self assured tone.

Tim spent almost his entire shift at the flower shop in somewhat of a daze. He kept thinking about Jason's happy grin and how his eyes sparkled when he smiled. Janet had to snap her fingers in his face a few times to bring his attention back to planet Earth. She only demanded once to know what had claimed his thoughts and Tim just shrugged.

"No a 'what', mom, a 'who' and it's no, you can't meet him. You'll just scare him off." He smiled to let it be known that he was joking.

"Well, it's about time you had a date. Twenty years old and nothing to show for it!" Janet had one hands on her hips and the other held a spray bottle as if she could spray her son's imperfections away.

"Now, Janet, give the boy some space. Not everyone want's to jump into a relationship right away, you know." Jack had his eyes on the shop's ledger marking down their sales for the day but was still able to add his two cents to the conversation.

Tim chuckled at the look on his mother's face then went back to rearranging the yellow roses into bouquets of six and twelve. Yellow roses were in high demand for the past few months.

"Hmm." Janet sniffed and started spraying the ferns. "What's his name then?"

Tim nibbled on his lip as he thought whether it would be a good idea or a bad one to tell his mother more than just the fact that he had a date. "Jason Todd."

"That's a nice name. Is he rich?"

"Mom!" Tim rolled his eyes and finished with the roses quickly. It was almost two thirty and there was still a lot to be done. They had been busier than anticipated today and he had lost time.

Janet moved on to spray the lillys and sunflowers. "When is this little date, Tim?"

"In half an hour?" Tim made his way around the room to put things back in their places and wipe up any messes. He still had to count out the register, put the money in the vault until one of them could get to the bank, make sure orders were correctly made and for the right persons, and-

"Shouldn't you be getting ready for it?"

"What?" Tim turned around to look at his mother, still innocently spraying flowers with generous amounts of water.

"You're father and I are perfectly capable of closing the shop, sweat heart. We've been doing since before you were old enough to walk." Janet smiled when Tim came over to kiss her cheek.

"I owe you one!"

"You bet your bottom you do." Jack snorted at his wife and took over the task of counting out the register.

All too soon, the sound of a motorcycle pulling up to a stop in front of the shop, distracted Tim from trying to distract himself to pass the time. He looked up and out of the shop's from window to find Jason removing his helmet and running his fingers through his minimal helmet hair. He remembered to breathe when Jason waved at him and he grabbed his stuff to leave.

Tim unlocked the shop door and stepped outside into what passed for fresh air in Gotham. "Wow, this is the bike you fixed up? It looks great."

"Thanks. It took me three years to get all the parts." Jason smiled and patted the seat behind him. "I got a spare helmet for you…"

Tim took a quick, steadying breathe and mounted the bike behind Jason, and accepted the helmet offered to him. "Where are we going?"

Jason reached back and wrapped Tim's arms around his waist, put his own helmet back on, and revved the bike. "All over town and anywhere else you'd like to go."


	3. Fluff

_Have a little fluff._

"What are you doing..?"

Jason stood in the doorway of the bedroom, looking in from the living room of Tim's apartment. It was eight thirty in the evening. What plausible reason did Jason have tracking oil through his apartment then standing there are staring at him while he was sleeping? Seriously, it was really creepy and Gypsy hadn't barked.

Sometimes Tim regretted giving him a key.

"Checking up on you." Jason leaned against the door frame and wiped his nose with the sleeve of his leather jacket.

Oh, sure.

Tim snorted which started up a coughing fit which would irritate his sore throat and sent Gyspy jumping off his bedand out of the room. He reached out for the water bottle on his nightstand and was mildly surprised when it was put into his hand already open. He drank carefully in little sips until he wasn't coughing anymore. "You're a terrible nurse."

Jason shrugged then kicked off his boots and let his jacket drop to the floor. He knew it irritated Tim to no end that there was another mess on his once clean floors. He'd clean it up later. Maybe. "Scootch over, prettybird." Jason had his jeans and shirt on a pile in the floor and was already climbing into the bed, not giving Tim a chance to argue.

"You're going to get sick." Tim frowned and kept his distance from Jason on the queen bed.

Jason wrapped his arms around Tim and pulled him close. "I don't get sick." He felt Tim's forehead for a fever then ran his fingers through silky black hair. "Besides, you're not contageous anymore."

"So..?" Tim's voice came out a little nasally and he closed his eyes, delighting in the scalp massage.

"So that means I can do this." Tim's eyes shot open when Jason kissed him. It was chaste kiss on the lips but it was still contact. It was almost like Jason wanted to get sick and miss work at the garage. "Now go back to sleep, Tim."

Tim had to smile. It was actually very sweet of Jason to come over after work and as a bonus he was quite warm. He just hoped he didn't get his boyfriend sick.


	4. Chapter 4

This is probably the last thing I'm going to write for the Puppy Love verse unless inspiration hits again. And I'll have you know, Anno, I chewed my nails down to stubs trying to make this perfect for you.

"Hey! You can't bring that dog in here!"

Tim turned at the sound of a man's voice, looking somewhat confused. He was about to go into the main garage of Martian's Service and Tire as he had every right to do, with or without Gypsy in tow. He turned toward the man, one of the sleazier men working here, and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, really…" Tim glanced at his name tag then looked back into his face. "Mr. Salvatore? Well, you're standing around, doing nothing. Why don't you look after her for me while I attend to my business?"

Tim offered Salvatore Gypsy's leash. She put her head down and looked up at the greasy man, growling and showing her sharp teeth. She obviously felt as much distaste for the man as Tim did. "Nah, that's fine… Just don't be in there long or the boss'll have my job."

"Of course." Tim smiled sweetly at Salvatore and continued on his way into the main garage. He recognized Jason instantly by his fine ass bent over the engine of a grungy car. Tim ordered Gypsy to sit out of the way by the least messy wall of the garage.

"Excuse me? I'm looking for the guy that promised to take me to dinner tonight?"

Jason looked under his arm at Tim then did a double take, straightening up and smacking his head on the hood of the car. "God_damn_ it!" He rubbed the top of his head gently and Tim grimaced in sympathy. That was not his intention at all. "Are you _trying_ to kill me?"

Tim covered his mouth with a hand to hide his smile. "Why would I do that? There is no way I would let you get out of an anniversary dinner."

"Tim… It's a sixth month anniversary dinner. It's not as important as, say, a one year anniversary dinner. Don't you think?" Jason touched the top of his head then looked at his hand, just to make sure he wasn't bleeding. Damn, that hurt.

Tim rolled his eyes and pouted. "Well, it's important to me and you promised."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. First time for everything I guess." Jason smiled and leaned against the car he was attempting to fix without running up too much of a bill for the poor old woman that owned it. He glanced at the clock on the wall. "You do realized you're here an hour early, right?"

Tim returned Jason's smile and shrugged his shoulders. "I know. I decided to walk Gypsy early since I won't be home tonight… I thought it would be nice to visit you at work for a change."

"You left out the part where you tried to kill me."


End file.
